Three Things R Told Me About Transparency

Before I say anything, I will say that I think reading this post will be a lot more fun for you after you check out my friend Laura Ellis’s tutorial on creating word clouds in R.

The tutorial will teach you how to combine the “rtweet” package I mentioned in my last blog with tidyverse tools to create the beautiful art below with any hashtag you want.

A word cloud made in RStudio using the hashtag “transparency.”

What you see above is the word cloud created from the top 2000 tweets including the hashtag #transparency. The size of the word represents its popularity. As to be expected, “coronavirus”, “Trump” and “stocks” are high on the list. But I found my eyes drawn to the messages hidden in the smaller letters. I list the three that hit me the most below. Of course, I’m happy that data made the list, but I decided not to state the obvious. What does transparency mean to you?

Simple Builds Trust

Earlier today, during #BizGalz on Twitter, the question came up as to how we can create trust when interacting solely online. My favorite responses focused around “spreading the good” (@ZalkaB), “taking the time to be correct” (@AnOrchidInBloom), and “demonstrating compassion” (@RoseHorowitz31).

My response was that we can build the most trust by sharing expertise. By sharing what we know, we open up a virtual marketplace for give and take and a culture based on helpfulness. This alone doesn’t encompass transparency, but it does involve the sharing of knowledge, which is a good first step.

I’ve been sharing my expertise about remote work as much as possible for free or at a discounted price to those who are currently online on-boarding. What is something you are excellent at that would be of service at this time? How can you offer it with compassion to the people who need it? I know it’s cliched to say, but in vulnerable times such as these, knowledge is power.

Control [Your] Response

It’s not like you can control anyone else’s. These two words stuck out to me, given how much I crave control and am known to respond horribly to the lack of it.

Part of encouraging transparency collectively is forcing ourselves to respond well to it. The reason we’re conditioned to hide the truth is because we’re burned by the series of bad reactions we’ve collected over time. I’m not saying it’s easy or that I can even do it. But learning to respond well when faced with a harsh reality at an individual may in time combat the level of public fear we’re experiencing now.

Proven

I was inspired to see this word tucked at the bottom.

We could say that transparency ultimately needs to be proven. Or we could say that if we focus on what’s proven, we don’t need ultimate transparency.